{"id":6159,"date":"2020-08-28T06:16:47","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T06:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=6159"},"modified":"2020-08-28T09:15:25","modified_gmt":"2020-08-28T09:15:25","slug":"a-lifeline-in-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2020\/08\/28\/a-lifeline-in-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"A Lifeline In Lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With her customers relying on their food deliveries, Tina Dwyfor-Jones \u2013 Reading graduate and Director of Wiltshire Farm Foods, Preston \u2013 tells CONNECTED how they kept the elderly fed throughout lockdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Many of Wiltshire Farm Foods<\/a>\u2019 core customers are over 85 \u2013 some of them rely on carers, some suffer from illnesses, and some began shielding or isolating before the UK officially went into lockdown. All of these factors meant that Tina\u2019s customers relied on the regular delivery of frozen, highly nutritious meals to survive.<\/p>\n

Tina, a Reading psychology<\/a> graduate, tells CONNECTED that operating throughout lockdown was no easy task for Wiltshire Farm Foods. Despite struggling to source Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), stock issues and increased demand, Tina is proud that they didn\u2019t let a single client down.<\/p>\n

Operating during lockdown<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the operations of Wiltshire Farm Foods, which needed to operate successfully during lockdown to keep their customers fed.<\/p>\n

Tina said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs going to the shops became more difficult for our elderly customers, or their carers were unable to help out as much, our core clientele sometimes relied entirely on us being able to provide our ready-meals to feed them during lockdown. This was a huge responsibility, but was also a privilege to be helping those who needed it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cLockdown also led to an increase in customers for us \u2013 which while great for business in principle, put us under a lot of strain trying to fulfil all those orders. But we never said no \u2013 while prioritising our existing, loyal customers, and those who were most at risk of COVID-19, we never turned anyone away.<\/p>\n

\n

“It was so important that we could help anyone who needed food delivered to their door during lockdown.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tina explains the changes they made in order to keep their customers fed during lockdown, while also protecting both their staff and clientele.<\/p>\n

Tina said: \u201cWe hired extra drivers and freezer staff, putting on extra rounds every day to cover the increased demand. We rose from an average of 30 drops per van round a day, up to 70 drops on some rounds, including offering Saturday deliveries for a few weeks to make sure no-one went unfed. Our drivers began wearing face masks and gloves, sanitised between drops, and reduced contact with customers by leaving boxes on the doorsteps instead of taking them into the house as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overcoming challenges<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Classed as key workers, Wiltshire Farm Foods were able to keep running throughout lockdown but, as Tina tells CONNECTED, that came with many challenges.<\/p>\n

Tina explained: \u201cWhile we did what we could to keep our deliveries running as smoothly as possible, we faced challenges that were out of our hands. For example, we had issues trying to maintain our stock sufficiently as our suppliers weren\u2019t delivering full orders to us, due to issues elsewhere in the supply chain. This meant we couldn\u2019t always deliver the exact order to a customer, and often we had to make substitutions without any time to warn them in advance. Luckily, that issue has settled down now.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe also struggled with securing PPE \u2013 although classed as key workers because we weren\u2019t NHS, we understandably weren\u2019t a priority when trying to get hold of materials such as Perspex. However, it was essential that we could obtain PPE to keep ourselves running, thereby keeping our customers fed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“We did eventually manage to secure it and we have rearranged the office so that there are two metres and Perspex between colleagues, plus a new route for drivers to come into their office after delivering rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, our safety protocols presented some challenges with our customers. For example, some customers suffer from dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s and struggled to remember social distancing requirements, or some still needed the driver to bring the food into the house rather than doing a doorstep drop. We were able to be flexible in our approach, whilst still protecting our driver and the customer.<\/p>\n

“Another challenge was asking our customers to pay by card, as many prefer to pay via cheque or cash. This also led to internal cash flow issues as we are used to having cash in the office to pay bonuses with, whereas card payments take time to clear.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe also had to accommodate our staff who understandably couldn\u2019t work for health reasons, or who faced childcare issues. We all worked very late and long hours during lockdown, and I became much more involved in the business in terms of hands-on work in the office than I had been for a while, when previously I worked flexibly from home.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“It was certainly a juggling act \u2013 demand has reduced now back towards a more manageable level as some people or their carers have been able to return to shops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proud to have delivered<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Tina is extremely proud of her team and their commitment to their customers, particularly in such a tough set of circumstances.<\/p>\n

Tina said: \u201cIt is a great feeling to be doing our bit to help out during lockdown and throughout the duration of the pandemic. It was difficult, but very much a privilege.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI am so proud that not only did we manage to keep functioning during lockdown, we were able to continue delivering to our core customers, and also to support extra customers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“We always managed to deliver, even if it arrived later than expected \u2013 we were determined not to let anyone down and we succeeded. I\u2019m so proud of our whole team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hear from<\/a> another of our inspiring alumni who provides an insight into the global impact of COVID-19 on food insecure people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With her customers relying on their food deliveries, Tina Dwyfor-Jones \u2013 Reading graduate and Director of Wiltshire Farm Foods, Preston \u2013 tells CONNECTED how they kept the elderly fed throughout lockdown. Many of Wiltshire Farm Foods\u2019 core customers are over 85 \u2013 some of them rely on carers, some suffer from illnesses, and some began […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":6172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,16,85,26,34,41,94],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Lifeline In Lockdown - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With her customers relying on their food deliveries, Tina Dwyfor-Jones tells CONNECTED how Wiltshire Farm Foods kept the elderly fed throughout lockdown.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2020\/08\/28\/a-lifeline-in-lockdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Lifeline In Lockdown - 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